Five on Friday....London

Hello

Once again I'm joining in with Amy's Five on Friday - please do visit her 

blog 'Love Made My Home' if you haven't yet, but I think lots of us know 

Amy and her blog already!  

So my Five on Friday is all about last Friday - the best day of the Easter weekend for us 

in terms of the weather forecast. Planning ahead I decided that Good Friday was the day 

for our planned day trip. It was a one-day break from revision for the young people from 

AS levels and University exams. 

At 7.44 am we boarded a deserted train to London. Once in London we headed for the 

Docklands Light Railway to make our way to Greenwich Park and more specifically to 

the Royal Observatory.

And here we are on the Meridian Line. Arriving at a relatively early hour it was still fairly 

quiet but there were still plenty of shadows. We then visited the Planetarium for a very

 interesting talk on identifying the more common stars and constellations. 

It was my first visit to Greenwich Park. The views from the Observatory over London and 

the Thames were stunning, especially in the spring sun. 

From Greenwich Park we walked to Greenwich village, home of the Cutty Sark.  

There was a great atmosphere in Greenwich, it felt almost like a carnival with the carousel, the food stalls, the pub and cafes around the Cutty Sark. And always that blue sky....

Back on the Docklands Light Railway we caught glimpses of restored docks and 

smart new apartments blocks built into old warehouses yet retaining the dockside old 

cranes for loading boats.  

A visit to London for me is hardly complete without a walk along the Thames.

And we finished the day with a meal at Pizza Express opposite St Paul's Cathedral.

 The sun accentuated the architectural details of the Cathedral. 

PS I'm finishing off with 2 sneaky extras photos:

my glorious pizza...

....and very welcome beer!

Sorry for cheating with 2 extra photos, but a great day with the family!

Have a great weekend

xXx

Starting with a night in York...

Hello

Well, I think it is just a quick round up for this blog post. 

Half term has been and gone. We offered daughter a choice of activities/short breaks but 

she chose a staycation - for her at least. Husband and I had a night in York while she had 

friends (all female!) round for a sleepover. 

Husband and I travelled by train to York, my favourite mode of travel, offering the 

chance  for a coffee, a read of my book and a few rows knitted on my socks. 

We have visited York several times but this was the first occasion in a long time for us to 

visit without children, an indication of how our life is changing as the children grow up. 

We felt in need of exercise and despite the rather grey skies and occasional 

shower of rain we decided to shun the museums and just walk. 

And we walked the city walls - something I have not done before but the walk took 

us through some interesting parts of the city and the heights of the wall gave a slightly 

different perspective of the city too. 

On the way home from York we stopped in Sheffield and had lunch with 2 sons and one girlfriend. The meal wasn't great but the company was fantastic which is the main thing isn't it? 

I didn't take lots of photos while away as I just wanted to walk and enjoy a wind down. 

York was a bit of a welcome break from this.....

Umm.... stripping wallpaper from the hall, stairs and landing. We haven't decorated these 

rooms since we moved in 15 years ago - we always knew it would be a big job and so 

kept postponing it but we decided we could do this no more!!

Underneath we have revealed a variety of paints and I quite like the rustic look we have

on some parts of the wall. What do you think? I have tried to persuade the family that 

maybe we don't need to decorate, we can leave the walls like this but I'm not sure they 

are so convinced!!

And please don't expect a "ta-dah" revealing a beautifully decorated halls, stairs and 

landing any day soon - it all needs a lot of preparation so this is definitely 

a slow-burn project. 

(The picture is one I cross stitched years ago for younger son.)

The weather has been bright recently here in the Midlands and I have made the 

most of it in between stripping!

  

These photos were taken on a now-regular walk of mine round the wood at the 

back of our house and across to the science park. 

I have made a few of these recently - yes toss-in-fruitcake, mainly for daughter. These are

 so easy to make. As the name suggests you literally toss everything in a bowl and mix! 

A friend recently gave us a typewriter.

Only a few weeks ago I had mentioned in passing how I thought daughter would like one. 

It was very kind of her to remember my words when she found one in the back of a 

wardrobe while having a sort out. Daughter thinks "it is sick!" and has even been typing 

up her physics notes.

 The rhythmic sound of the keys tapping, the ping of the bell as the feed roller 

passes the margin and the sliding back of the feed roller is almost musical. 

We have been watching more ladies football matches. Brrr, it was cold yesterday but boy

 was it a nail biting cup match. Sadly our local team lost 2-1 in extra time. But the crowd of approximately 100 was testament to how far the team have come this year.

And the chilliness continued this morning, a very sharp frost with a hazy sun filtering

 through the mist gave the hill behind our house a  warm glow. 

So nothing very exciting to report. Just a round up of recent events. 

Has the sun been shining for your recently?

Do you feel like spring is on its way?

Wishing you a good week

xXx

PS. Thank you for the lovely comments on my socks in my last post!

Out and about and at home.....

Hello,

 

It's been a funny few weeks. We have been out and about quite a bit and yet had odd quiet

days at home, nursing colds and catching up on long-overdue DIY jobs while daughter has been absent for some considerable time, enjoying the start of half term with her friends.

 

So this is another post of photos with few words.

 

 

Pure gold! Early morning sunlight at work.  

 

Woke one Sunday morning to find that autumn had arrived overnight,
heralded by the first fallen leaves of the season. 

A visit to Sheffield to spend a few precious hours with my two sons.
 

Secondary schools cross country race, daughter competing.

 

View of Exeter and beyond from my hotel room (attending a conference).

Boy was it a loooong train journey to Exeter!

Enjoying supersized raspberries for breakfast.
 

Snapping a photo of my new bag on the train to send to my friend who treated me to it
- love the colour and it's a great reminder of a super day we enjoyed in London.

A pre-match walk in a country park.
We are on the top of a hill here - the ground drains so badly because we are walking
on slag heaps. This country park has been developed on the site of a disused colliery
in North Nottinghamshire. It's quite sad to think of all the activity  and economic prosperity
this "country park" once offered.
Back in the 1980s I was one of many who wrote to Thatcher urging her to keep the mines open - but to no avail. Little did I know that one day I would be walking on one of these sites.
 

Colliery lagoons, now a haven for wildlife.

Watching daughter play football - as captain of her team.

Taking possession of a new coastal cottage.
A charming little two up, two down with roses around the door....

... that will fit nicely on the hearth.

My latest project, that is now progressing well.

Gorgeous yarn, including Wesley Bob for my next project.

Just need a mantelpiece now to hang my stocking from (once it's started and finished!)

Enjoying the late evening sun in the garden.

Life viewed through the bottom of my wine glass!

Sorry this is another mismatch of photos - sometimes I am enjoying somewhere or something
 too much to want to spend too much time looking through a camera lens and hence I end up
taking one or two snaps of a whole host of things. 

But actually this post is a great representation of my life:
work, knitting, reading, watching sport, walking, train rides, and spending time with the family but most definitely not in that order.

Have a good week and enjoy half term if it is half term with you.
We are off camping for a couple of days on Wednesday -
can't wait for that outdoor cooking and sleeping!
xXx

 

Day tripping.....

... to Matlock

... by train

... providing time for some more mindless circular knitting of socks 

(still LOVING that cute, diddy  needle!)

 ... disembarking at quiet stations

.. climbing through pretty woods

... seeing sheep and thinking "yarn!"

... enjoying the colours of spring

... taking in distant views

... contemplating the sky above Bilberry Knoll

... marvelling at the stone mullions of a house built in 1633!

... thinking how much the chimneys remind us of rooks on a chess board!

... admiring neat allotments

... gasping at statuesque chimneys

... appreciating beautiful architecture

... salivating at scrambled eggs on toast

... wishing there was a band playing to complete this picture of the bandstand

... not being envious of canoeists on the chilly river

... enjoying more bluebells

... astonished at the cheekiness of this robin

... waiting for our transport home

... finding time for a few more stitches and, from the photo I'd taken on our outbound journey, noticing the progress I'd made so far today! 

All in the very agreeable company of eldest son!

I needed this day out. 

I am essentially an outdoor girl who hates routine, but unfortunately, since November I 

have been working in a job which entails sitting in an office, shared with just

 one other person, 4 days a week from roughly 8am until 4pm. 

This drives me stir-crazy and in truth, I'm not sure how much longer I can do it, so this day

 out in the open spaces, no routine, with lots of walking and even more laughter was sorely 

needed and a great restorative. 

Enjoy your weekend  - and here's hoping for even more sunny days 

(we have been so lucky here in the UK lately!)

xXx